WORKING AT HEIGHT Such Great Heights
Have you ever wondered how they clean some of the stunning landmarks from around the world? Who makes sure that the spectacular Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro continues to look pristine? Or ensures that the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin retains its gravitas? Or the Statue of Liberty stays looking beautiful? And what exactly goes in to cleaning these impressive attractions?
For 25 years now, Kärcher have been carrying out, as part of a cultural sponsorship programme, deep cleans on a number of iconic monuments from around the world, including the three previously mentioned, as well as the presidents’ heads on Mount Rushmore, USA, Monumen Nasional in Jakarta, Indonesia, and a little closer to home, the London Eye. We caught up with them while they gave us a little more detail about some of the incredible projects carried out over the years.
An Eye For Detail In March 2013 a team of 20 volunteers from Kärcher’s UK headquarters in Banbury took on the epic challenge of cleaning the iconic EDF Energy London Eye, removing traffic film and grime that had built up over 13 years of use. The extensive project took three weeks, with rope technicians using specialist Kärcher professional hot water pressure washers to deep clean 2-3 capsules each night while the city slept.
The volunteers from various departments throughout the UK business including product management, the call centre, sales, marketing and demonstrations swapped their day jobs, keyboards and tea rounds for night shifts working in the shadow of Big Ben.
The team cleaned the structure, including the centre spoke, but faced unseasonably cruel weather during
54
For the past 25 years, Kärcher have been carrying out routine cleans on some of the most iconic landmarks from all around the world – often at great heights. We find out about just some of the incredible projects that they have worked on over the years.
the second coldest March on record, braving -10°C temperatures overnight and gusts of wind of over 50mph. Nearly a year later the team’s effort and commitment was publically acknowledged with their winning of the Banbury Team of the Year Award 2014.
Phil Springall, Marketing Manager said: “It was a great honour for the Kärcher Team to win the Banbury Team of the Year Award 2014. A great deal of effort went into the project by everyone involved, not only during the three weeks based down in London but also during the many months of planning before. This was a once in a lifetime project and huge congratulations should go out to everyone for their dedication and commitment.”
The London Eye remained open to the public throughout the clean, as the team worked through the night to ensure there was no disruption for Londoners. The clean was environmentally friendly and didn’t cause any risk to the Thames as Kärcher used PVC ‘pools’ to collect all
water and residue from the clean and drained it locally.
Kevin Dyer, Head of Technical Operation at the London Eye said: “This was very exciting for us as it’s the most extensive clean the structure has seen since its opening in 2000 and a huge project. We were delighted to work with Kärcher as we’ve seen some of the amazing work they have performed on other world famous monuments. The London Eye is now ready for summer after its big clean.”
Simon Keeping, Managing Director of Kärcher UK added: “Kärcher is proud to be working with the London Eye and cleaning such an important part of the London skyline. This was one of the largest projects we have worked on in Europe and we ensured the clean was as environmentally friendly as possible. As the world’s leading cleaning specialists, our products demonstrate power through their ability to tackle the toughest jobs – including one of the tallest monuments in London.”
www.tomorrowscleaning.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80